'Pet the Pup at the Party' is a Game That Addresses Social Anxiety

'Pet the Pup at the Party' is a game that is set at a house party, challenging players to avoid engaging in small talk with strangers in favor of seeking out animals to interact with instead.

The downloadable game for Windows and macOS was created by Will Herring, which turns the challenges of dealing with social anxiety into a positive gameplay experience. In Pet the Pup at the Party, users are challenged to follow the sounds of barking to locate the dogs within the house and unlock as many of the "radical and special pups" as they can within a time limit.

A number of games have been released over the past few years that explore stories of compassion, empathy, empowerment and mental health issues over themes that include violence.